A Slice of Drag

By Shan Hooper

My artistic practice is a celebration of the world I live in and the community I perform with. Over the past 20 years, my mediums have evolved from tactile materials like acrylics, spray paint, clay, and resin, to a current focus on digital illustration and video production. I work predominantly in Procreate — a deliberate choice to use a Tasmanian-designed tool to create Tasmanian art, building upon my extensive background in both fine art painting and graphic design. 

I am heavily influenced by the local drag world. As a drag king, musician, and podcast co-host, I see the vibrancy of performance from the inside out, and I aim to capture that energy in my visual work. I love taking famous, historical artworks and 'queering them up', replacing traditional figures with local drag performers — including myself — to bring a new, subversive life to the canon. 

My style is defined by bright colours and hidden details; I want the viewer to find something new every time they look. Ultimately, my work isn't about deep angst or academic theory. It is about joy. I want people to feel good when they look at my art.

Family Portrait (2022)  

In the world of drag, artists transform into alter egos, bypassing biology to create their own systems of kinship. Experienced performers mentor 'drag babies', becoming Mothers (Queens) or Dads (Kings) as they guide the next generation. This piece is a portrait of my chosen family: Pussay Poppins (Mum), Barry Bothways (Dad), and Dirty Damo (their baby). 

The composition transforms a backstage photo of our shenanigans into a queer homage to the 1594 Renaissance painting Gabrielle : and One of Her Sisters. In the original, two women sit in a bath behind theatrical curtains, with one delicately pinching the other’s nipple. I have recreated that theatrical depth of field here. Just as the women in the original stare out at the viewer, Dirty Damo stares back at you, connected to his Mother under the watchful gaze of his Dad. 

Medium: Digital illustration created in Procreate (Tasmanian-developed software).

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The Creation of Damo (2023) 

Inspired by Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel masterpiece — and a ridiculous photo taken at a Launceston AirBnB when Dirty Damo performed solo for Mood Queer — this piece is an irreverent subversion of binary expectations. 

Here, Drag King Barry Bothways, dressed in his token male 'worker bee' onesie, takes the place of God. Reclining on a uterine cloud, he extends a finger to gift the spark of drag to Dirty Damo. Damo appears to have taken more than a nibble out of the Garden of Eden’s heirloom apple of wisdom; he is letting it all hang out, mirroring Adam in the original fresco — only significantly more impressive. 

Medium: Digital illustration created in Procreate (Tasmanian-developed software).

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Not Today (2025) 

Not Today is my response to the theme of 'Resistance'. It visualises my rejection of the toxic, masculine archetypes I have encountered in life, and explores how my alter ego, Drag King Gary Snow, has taught me to take up space and create boundaries. 

Resistance is the teacher of courage. It is the refusal to let a false narrator control the game of chess that is our ego. By standing in our truth, we find the allies who will stand beside us, transcending constraint to build real community. Visually, I wanted to capture the feeling of that toxicity — who doesn't love a bit of green slime? It calls back to the nostalgia of Ghostbusters, evoking the distinct smell of 'Slimer' toys from childhood, while representing the sticky nature of the narratives we are trying to escape. 

Medium: Digital illustration created in Procreate (Tasmanian-developed software).

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The Wolf (2025) 

History isn't linear — nor can its continuity be confirmed with more than a sense of knowing. This piece explores the profound, recurring connections that defy time, weaving together past incarnations into a single, vibrant composition. 

The Wolf emerges not merely as a creature of myth, but as a symbolic thread woven through countless lives. We witness the beginning of this history in 'The Crooked Cauldron, 1623', where two defiant women meet, their bond framed by the smoke and flames of being condemned for their 'witchy' ways. The moment of their meeting is deliberately placed to hang on the wall in the background of a gothic house, anchoring this history within a new context. 

The work then shifts to a more another timeline, where the figures are presented almost like a portrait: the protector of the night walker, the forbidden companion to the sorceress, and the wild spirit in enduring love. This is a cheeky wink to those historical echoes, where the souls that have met before — across the veil of 'witchcraft' or 'enchantment' — meet again. 

This artwork is the foundation for future work, as I plan to use this very image as the picture in the background of the next piece in the series, continuing the layered, non-linear narrative of enduring love and defiant existence. 

Medium: Digital illustration created in Procreate (Tasmanian-developed software).

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Bio: Shan Hooper is a multidisciplinary queer artist, musician, and drag king based in Nipaluna/Hobart, Australia. With a background in painting to graphic design, Shan describes their practice as ‘mostly self-taught', preferring to dive down rabbit holes of creative curiosity rather than following traditional academic paths. Shan's commitment to queer culture extends to audio media; they co-host a podcast with Phoebe Adams highlighting queer arts culture. While their history spans acrylics, resin, and jewellery, their current artistic focus is vibrant digital art created using the Tasmanian-developed program, Procreate. Follow Shan and their alter ego Gary Snow on Instagram: @shanhooperdesign and @gary_snow_dragking